My winter break was almost seven weeks long. Seriously. I have never…in my LIFE…had this much time off to do absolutely nothing. Maybe it would be OK if I was like all of my classmates and took a trip somewhere? Or if I was capable of sleeping 14 hours a day? Except no.
The house is cleaner than it’s been or will be for decades. I’ve put in a bazillion hours of MCAT prep. I volunteered at the hospital. The pups have gotten more walking in the last 6 weeks than they had all last year. Ate a few too many of those chocolate covered acai berries (the ones from Costco…dangerous). Too much…*way* too much…has been spent at Target. I don’t know what else to do, you guys.
Class starts next week and it’s the home stretch…4 more months of pre-med and then…well, I’ll let you know. Maybe. Lots of *life plans* in the works and I’m honestly not necessarily sure how it’s going to pan out. Not gonna jinx it. Nope nope. I can tell you, though, that we will be…moving…again. Since I left college I have moved through 3 different states, 1 year-long deployment to Iraq, 5 different homes. Six if you count my CHU in Iraq but I really don’t think that counts. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone unless you have some weird desire to live in a big tin box and sleep on a plastic mattress that smells like mothballs. Blech.
Enough of that…how about I make you dinner? Following my weird BBQ fetish, I’ve been doing a lot of Asian cooking lately. And by that I mean I’ve been putting fish sauce and coconut aminos in *everything.* I recommend it.
This dish can be made meatless or with chicken, shrimp, beef, pork…or all of the above. We like options, don’t we?
- 1 spaghetti squash
- 1/3 c apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 c coconut aminos or tamari
- 1 1/2 T hot chili paste
- 1/4 c fish sauce (omit if you want this to be vegan)
- 3 T palm sugar
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 T coconut oil
- 1 c snow peas
- 3 green onions (scallions), sliced
- 1/2 c fresh cilantro, chopped
- Slivered almonds and lime wedges to garnish
- Put the spaghetti squash in the oven at 400 degrees for 45 mins. When finished, cut in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds.
- Using a fork, remove the squash strands into a bowl and set aside.
- While the squash is cooking, whisk together the vinegar, coconut aminos, chili paste, fish sauce, and palm sugar in a small dish. Set aside.
- In a high rimmed pan or pot, heat the coconut oil over medium high heat.
- Add the garlic, sauteing until lightly browned, then add the onions.
- When the onions are translucent, reduce the heat to medium and add the spaghetti squash and snow peas. Toss to coat in the oil and garlic.
- Add the sauce, stirring to coat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
- When you are ready to serve, add the scallions and cilantro, mixing well.
- Serve garnished with slivered almonds and lime wedges.
